Gamescom 2014: What’s going to happen?

NOTE: All predictions were written independently of each other… hence why everyone is expecting all the remasters…

Simon Miller, Editor-In-Chief

Microsoft’s big guns

The Xbox One still needs its ace in the hole. Halo 5 is undoubtedly already in that category, but Microsoft has to reveal other games to both support and stand alongside the return of the Master Chief. Given that they pushed a lot at E3, continuing that momentum a few months later is imperative.

While some new titles would be appreciated – Gears? A new, non-Kinect outing from Rare? – we finally need to know what the hell Quantum Break is and, hopefully, get some solid info about Crackdown.

Quantic Dream’s new game

Beyond: Two Souls was… let’s just say it wasn’t great. A huge shame coming off the back of the excellent Heavy Rain, Gamescom feels like the right place, and right time, for David Cage to announce something new (not Kara, although that wizard thing he did was pretty good…) and prove that his unique approach to video games is not a hit and miss affair.

Plus it’s not a bad extra for Sony to throw into its PS4 cap.

Every game ever made is getting remastered

Pong, Horace Goes Skiing, Dizzy, Saberwolf, E.T., Breakout, Minesweeper, Solitaire and Manic Miner will all be announced as being remastered…

Tom Orry, Editorial Director

Remasters galore

As well as a strong presence from The Master Chief Collection for Xbox One, I hope we’ll see a number of other remasters of older games. Rumours of Beyond and God of War Ascension getting similar treatment to The Last of Us have been doing the rounds for some time, so we might see something of those, but fingers crossed some games that struggled on PS3/Xbox 360 get updated for PS4 and Xbox One. Far Cry 3, BioShock Infinite, Deus Ex, Crysis series, DmC, the Gears of War Trilogy and more would all benefit from the next-gen treatment.

Ratchet and Clank PS4

Sony revealed that the original Ratchet and Clank was being reimagined for PS4 in 2015, alongside the feature film starring the Lombax and robot duo. It might be a bit early to show off, but if the game arrives in the first half of 2015, Gamescom would be a good event to reveal the progress developer Insomniac is making.

Xbox One becomes more attractive to consumers

Through a combination of good games and another price cut, I expect the Xbox One will start to look more appealing following Gamescom. The machine has a hard few years ahead of it if Microsoft can’t get out from Sony’s “The Most Powerful Console in the World” marketing strategy, so the Xbox One has to be considerably cheaper and offer more exclusive titles.

David Scammell, News Editor

GTA V release date announced for PS4, Xbox One & PC

I’d put a substantial wad of cash on this being announced at Sony’s press conference alongside a hardware bundle and any other exclusive content Rockstar may have in store for PS4.

Another Xbox One price cut for Europe

Because last week’s “error” and recent retailer promotions seem too much of a coincidence for there not to be a price cut, although I’m not sure I’d hold my breath for another cut in the UK. The white Xbox One may be formally revealed, too, along with a 1TB console to compete with…

Sony’s new 1TB PS4

Sony doesn’t need to release a new PS4 SKU yet, but a 1TB PS4 could go some way to encourage even more sales this Christmas and gain an even greater lead on Microsoft. And if it were to introduce a new 1TB SKU, the big question would be whether it chooses to ‘Do An Apple’ and replace the 500GB model completely, or launch the 1TB model at a premium price…

James Orry, Games Editor

Year of the remaster

The year of the remaster will continue with a host of recent – and not so recent – games which were better on PC being ported over to the PS4 and Xbox One. The likes of BioShock Infinite, Dishonoured, Deus Ex, Skyrim, the Batman Arkham Trilogy, Dark Souls 1 and 2… and I’m sure there’s more I can’t think of. All these looked better on PC and would surely find a good audience on the new generation consoles.

New games…

There’ll be some new games too, including something from Media Molecule and Quantic Dream for PS4, plus a glimpse at Microsoft’s efforts with the Gears of War franchise. It would be great if Rare’s future plans are revealed too, but that’s probably too much to ask for.

Steve Burns, Deputy Editor

Bloodborne to look even better

First glimpsed at E3, Bloodborne impressed by coming across as Resi 4 meets Dark Souls. And this was with code that was both hands-off and boasting a frame-rate that would have appalled the SNES version of Doom.

So I’m expecting big things from, er, From’s latest at Gamescom.

Metal Gear Solid 5 to impress… again

The Phantom Pain got a hands-off demo at E3, and pretty much everyone who saw it loved it. Konami is holding a special pre-show event to show more of the game, and I imagine it will get people very excited indeed. The only question is whether it can top the E3 2000 reveal of MGS 2, which allegedly reduced people to tears. Maybe they knew what the full game was going to be like, eh?

I’m going to be upset that I don’t get currywurst this year

The VideoGamer brass has decided to cover Gamescom remotely this year, instead sending young men to their doom/appointments while we watch from afar. The only downside is that I won’t be able to get my hands on currywurst, the main reason for being out there in the first place.